Summer Season

by Julia Williams

  ‘I’ll be back soon,’ said Troy. ‘Don’t you go anywhere, now.’

  ‘And where would I go in Heartsease?’ said Lauren, laughing. ‘Go on, we’ll see you later.’

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ‘Come on, Sam,’ said Joel. ‘Here’s Nanny. We’re going to take her out for the day.’

  His mother was waiting outside her flat, leaning on her stick. He always told her not to do that, but she nearly always insisted on being ready at least half an hour before he arrived, ‘just in case’. She never explained in case of what, and in vain Joel tried to persuade her it wouldn’t be much good if she tripped over, but she dismissed him with a ‘Don’t be daft, I can still get out of the house on my own, you know.’

  ‘Nana!’ said Sam, clapping his hands as Joel helped his mother to the car.

  ‘Who’s my beautiful boy?’ Joel’s mum kissed her grandson.

  ‘You do realize he’s actually saying banana, don’t you, Mum?’ teased Joel. ‘It’s his favourite fruit.’

  ‘Shh,’ said his mother. ‘He knows his beautiful nana when he sees her, don’t you, darling?’

  ‘Nana, Nana!’ Sam said again.

  ‘See,’ said his mum with a smug smile, ‘he does know it’s me.’

  When they’d got to the old country pub Joel had chosen for lunch, he produced a folder with some of the documents he and Kezzie had found.

  ‘Oh, Mum, I thought you might be interested in looking at some of the stuff Kezzie and I have found out about Edward Handford,’ said Joel. ‘We’re going to put together an exhibition for the Heartsease Summer Fete. Or rather Kezzie is. She seems to be pretty good at that kind of thing.’

  ‘That’s wonderful,’ said his mum. ‘And how’s the garden getting on?’

  ‘Brilliant,’ said Joel. ‘Kezzie’s done a great job. Next time, I’ll bring you over to have a look. Anyway, we’re a bit stuck with some of the photos, I’m not sure who everyone is and I wondered if you’d know.’

  ‘Show me,’ said his mother, as she put her reading glasses on.

  ‘Ah, now, that,’ she said, pointing out a picture of the family in the garden, ‘that picture I remember. My grandmother had a copy on her wall. She was Lily’s youngest daughter, you know. Her name was Tilly. That’s her, there,’ Joel’s mother pointed to a young woman who looked very sombre, ‘and that’s Connie, the eldest, and Harry the son. Very sad, that. He’s the one who died in the First World War. Edward and Lily are sitting down.’

  ‘Do you know who this is?’ Joel pointed to a young man in military uniform, standing next to Connie.

  ‘Oh, that must be Connie’s fiancé,’ said Mum.

  ‘I thought Connie married a bank manager,’ said Joel.

  ‘Oh, she did eventually. Uncle Phillip,’ said Mum. ‘But she lost her first fiancé at the Somme. Very tragic.’

  ‘Why didn’t we have anything to do with them and the house?’ said Joel.

  ‘I’m not really sure, to be honest,’ said Mum. ‘Connie and Tilly fell out. Something to do with Tilly’s husband, my granddad – whether Connie was in love with him or not, I don’t know. But anyway, Connie stayed looking after Edward here, on her own, and later when she married, Uncle Phillip moved in too. We only came to visit Edward a couple of times when I was small, and both times Connie was out.’

  Her face looked dreamy. ‘I remember going as a child once, and meeting Edward for the first time. I thought he’d be very stern and old, but he was sweet and rather sad. He could never get my name right. He always called me Lily.’

  ‘Maybe you reminded him of her,’ said Joel. ‘That’s sad in a way.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Mum. ‘My mother always said he never got over Lily’s death. They were very much in love I believe. Look here, you can see it from their wedding photos.’

  It was true. Mum had found a very faded sepia photo in the folder, of Lily and Edward in formal wedding garb. Despite the severity of the photo style, you could see the sense of fun in Lily’s eyes, and the pleasure in Edward’s face, bubbling out of the photo.

  ‘The last time I saw Edward, I’ll never forget it. He was confined to his bedroom by then, and Connie had locked up the garden. I broke into it once – it was like a secret garden, but so sad and neglected. Only Edward used to ask after it, and no one would tell him how ruined it was. So I promised him I’d look after it. Hark at me. Only five, I was.’ She patted Joel’s hand. ‘I’m so glad you’re restoring the garden,’ she said. ‘It’s good for you to have a focus again. Give you something to think about.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Joel, acknowledging the unexpected truth of this. ‘It is.’

  Lauren found she couldn’t feel irritated with Troy for long. He’d provided salmon and champagne as his contribution to the picnic. An extravagant, but not unwelcome gesture. It was such a novelty to have him spend any money on her, she couldn’t help but be pleased.

  ‘You clearly haven’t done picnics with small people before,’ she laughed, as she produced sandwiches, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, mini sausages and crisps for the girls.

  They’d come to a high spot on the Downs where there was a glorious view of the county. It looked stunning on this wonderfully sunny April day. The grass was high already and waving in the breeze, the fields were full of gorse and heather, and there were catkins on the chestnut trees. Swallows were swooping in the azure blue sky and chaffinches were chirping in the hedgerows.

  The girls were having a great time running around, picking daisies, playing with a bat and ball, and imagining fairies in the undergrowth.

  Troy turned out to be particularly adept at going along with that game, somewhat to Lauren’s surprise. She was doubly impressed, knowing how rough he must be feeling. But she was finding it restful watching them running and playing around together. It was as if she’d had a glimpse of an alternative life – one where they were a proper family.

  ‘Enough. Enough. You two have worn me out,’ said Troy laughing, as he came down and flopped next to her. The girls were still happily catching fairies.

  ‘How’s the hangover?’ said Lauren.

  ‘All the better for running around with my daughters,’ he said. ‘And one glass of champagne has done wonders to clear my head.’

  ‘So long as you make it just the one glass,’ said Lauren.

  ‘Of course,’ said Troy. ‘I’d never drink and drive with the girls in the car. You know I’d never do anything to hurt them.’

  ‘I know,’ said Lauren. And she did know. Troy may have made mistakes in his past, but he was making up for it now.

  ‘And what about you?’ said Troy. He gently laced his fingers round hers, and she didn’t pull away. ‘Do you still think I would hurt you?’

  Lauren swallowed. The champagne had gone to her head, giving her a pleasant fizzing feeling. The setting and the moment felt suitably romantic, and she felt herself weaken. But then she thought about Joel, and how confused he’d made her feel. And what a mess Troy had been only that morning. Was she ready to trust him again? Could they really let go of their past and give it another go?

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I want to believe you won’t, but you let me down so badly before.’

  ‘I know,’ he said, and tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear. ‘I was wrong. Very wrong. I’m so afraid of the responsibility, you see. I’ve realized now I shouldn’t run away. Seeing some of those kids in Southampton, and how much it affects them not having their dads about was another thing that made me see I had to be here for the girls. I won’t let them down again. I promise you. You do know that, don’t you?’

  She looked into his eyes and saw only sincerity. Lauren hated herself for doubting him. Troy clearly thought he’d changed, and at least he was trying. Perhaps she should give him another chance. Throwing caution to the wind she leant over and kissed him full on the lips.

  ‘The past is the past,’ she said. ‘Let’s drink to the future.’

  By the end of the day, the majority of t
he paths had been cleaned and cleared away and all the bedding plants were in. Kezzie was really pleased with the result. The gardens looked fabulous, the beds were bursting with colour, the lawn had been cut, and thanks to Tony, the paths were going to be relaid by the Parish Council during the week. It was a vast improvement on the way they had looked. Tony had turned up with a gardening friend, who’d packed all the rubbish which wouldn’t fit in the skips, into his van and taken it to the tip for recycling. Kezzie winked at Eileen, who’d come with them. Eileen blushed and looked away.

  ‘You’ve done a fantastic job,’ said Tony. ‘All of you. Eileen and I can’t thank you enough.’

  ‘No problem,’ said Flick. ‘It’s been great fun.’

  ‘This is the moment in Ground Force when they always brought in the champagne,’ said Kezzie. ‘Sadly, I don’t have any, but there is still some beer at mine if anyone can face it. I am, of course, exempting myself from this.’

  Kezzie’s hangover and sense of paranoia had worsened as the day went on. She knew Troy and Lauren weren’t an item, and Lauren had been very clear that she wasn’t planning for them to be, but she felt she’d unwittingly strayed into Lauren’s territory, and she didn’t like it. Neither did she enjoy being secretive. She’d toyed with the idea of what to do all day, before coming to the conclusion that she should go round with a bottle of wine and fess up to Lauren. That way, they could (she hoped) have a good laugh about it, and get it out of the way, before gossip reached Lauren about what had happened. She liked Lauren, and the last thing she wanted was for there to be secrets between them.

  Thus resolved, Kezzie tried to put her worries about Lauren and Troy aside, and enjoy the rest of the weekend with her friends. She was helped in this aim by a nice surprise on her return home. Not only had Troy gone (Kezzie had been worried he might have hung around), but Flo and June had put the time to good use and cleaned up.

  ‘Oh, thanks you two,’ said Kezzie. ‘You really didn’t need to.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ said Flo. ‘We haven’t had such a laugh in ages, have we, June? It was the least we could do.’

  Everyone hung around till the late afternoon, before reluctantly packing up their things and clambering into Gavin’s minibus, which had always been used for gardening jobs.

  ‘You will come again soon, won’t you?’ said Kezzie wistfully. ‘I’ve missed you guys.’

  ‘Come back to London,’ urged Flick. ‘You can’t go burying yourself in the countryside forever.’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Kezzie, noncommittally. Part of her would love her old life back, but she had to admit she was putting roots down here. Living in Heartsease was doing her soul good. Leaving, if she ever did – Jo having emailed to say that she was having such a great time she was likely to be away for more than a year – would be a wrench.

  Sloughing off the end of weekend melancholy feeling that overtook her once everyone had gone, Kezzie grabbed a bottle of wine. She felt she was just about well enough now to tackle the hair of the dog, and went round to Lauren’s to confess all.

  The sun was setting as she went up the path, and she saw instantly through the window that Lauren wasn’t alone. She was with a man. Oh. Troy was round. That was embarrassing. Kezzie hesitated. Maybe Troy had had the same idea. It probably wasn’t the best time to call.

  Kezzie could see Lauren turn to face Troy, laughing. And then to Kezzie’s astonishment, he pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips.

  Oh my God. The sneaky sod. Straight from trying to seduce her, right into Lauren’s arms. He really was the worst kind of shit. No wonder Lauren had been so down on him. But what had made her change her mind? Now what to do?

  Paralysed by indecision, Kezzie eventually chose retreat as the best option. She’d come back tomorrow and try and find a way of telling Lauren then, when Troy wasn’t around. She took a final look up the path, to see Lauren drawing the curtains, still laughing. She looked so happy. How on earth was Kezzie going to be able to tell her the truth now?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The next morning, Kezzie woke up feeling even worse than she had on Sunday. She’d barely slept all night, fretting about what she was going to do. Lauren wouldn’t be at all impressed to discover that her newly restored lover had come on so strongly to her friend on Saturday. Thinking about it, she wasn’t even sure that Lauren would believe her. Would she if it were the other way round? It would sound like sour grapes, even though it wasn’t. She sighed heavily. She couldn’t deal with it now. Best she got to work. She had ivy and rosemary bushes to plant.

  Kezzie made her way up to Joel’s, past Lauren’s house. The curtains were still firmly drawn, leading Kezzie to draw her own conclusions. She couldn’t possibly tell Lauren what had really happened on Saturday. Luckily everyone else who knew about it had gone home, and she was assuming Troy wouldn’t be so stupid as to come clean. Kezzie hated herself for keeping silent – it went against the grain – but she knew it was the only thing she could do right now.

  When she got to Joel’s the sun was already strong in the sky, despite the early hour. It was shaping up to be a lovely day.

  Joel was already strapping Sam into the car when she arrived.

  ‘You’re early today,’ she said.

  ‘Yup,’ said Joel. ‘Didn’t want to hang about this morning. I think it’s best I drop Sam and run, considering what an idiot I made of myself on Saturday.’

  ‘Ah,’ said Kezzie. ‘I think I should probably warn you—’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘I’m really sorry. It looks as if Lauren had company last night. I saw Troy go round there, and I haven’t seen him leave.’

  ‘Well, he’s crashed on the sofa before,’ said Joel quickly. ‘And Lauren’s been adamant that they’re not getting back together.’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Kezzie. ‘But they did look pretty friendly.’

  ‘What a sod!’ said Joel. ‘To be with you one minute, then end up with Lauren the next. That’s pretty crap.’

  ‘I know,’ said Kezzie. ‘I feel so bad about it.’

  ‘Are you going to tell her?’

  ‘How can I?’ said Kezzie. ‘Oh, by the way, Lauren, I snogged your boyfriend on Saturday night.’

  ‘I can’t say anything,’ said Joel. ‘She’ll think I’m making it up.’

  ‘True,’ said Kezzie. ‘I guess we’ll just have to leave it for now.’

  ‘I guess we will.’

  They looked at one another gloomily.

  ‘I just hope she sees sense quickly,’ said Kezzie.

  When Joel had gone, Kezzie set off down the garden with her barrow loaded with plants that Joel had bought at the garden centre. She was still feeling agitated, but an hour or two in the garden was a great tonic, and by lunchtime, when she stopped to survey her handiwork, she was feeling much calmer. The interwoven pattern of box, ivy and rosemary was beginning to take shape, and she could see the patterns clearly. She had filled in the spaces with her chosen plants, and now she was working on the borders, filling them with heartsease and forget me nots and gloxinia. In a few months she’d transformed the place, and she felt rightly proud of her achievements.

  Kezzie still felt bad about what had happened with Troy. She would never have even looked at him sober. And at the moment there was no way she could tell Lauren, so it was better to let sleeping dogs lie. Kezzie couldn’t see another way round it, even if it meant Lauren had to find out about Troy the hard way.

  Joel walked down the path to Lauren’s house with a heavy heart. Not only had he blown it with her, he had the sneaking suspicion he might have sent her running straight into Troy’s arms. But there was nothing he could do. If he tried to tell Lauren what a two-timing bugger her boyfriend was, she’d never believe him. Besides, she’d evidently got it fixed in her head he was a lothario, and she wouldn’t be interested in anything Joel might have to say on the subject of Troy. If she only knew the complete soullessness and misery of the assignations he’d had since Claire died.<
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  He knocked on the door, and after a little while Lauren answered, looking flustered.

  ‘Oh. Er, Joel. You’re early.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Early meeting. So I got here sooner. Hope that’s OK.’

  ‘Yes, fine,’ said Lauren. ‘I’m er – running a bit late.’

  Lauren was obviously trying to hide the fact that Troy was there, Joel thought. She was blushing in a completely charming manner and never had she seemed more desirable to Joel. She was positively glowing. He cursed himself for an idiot of monumental proportions for having failed to see it before. Faint heart had lost fair lady, and to an undeserving rat at that.

  ‘Hey, babes, who’s there?’ Troy’s voice floated from the lounge.

  ‘Just Joel,’ said Lauren, blushing scarlet.

  Joel was at a loss as to what to do. Should he acknowledge Troy’s presence, and add to Lauren’s discomfort, or ignore him? His heart was churned up. He couldn’t bear to think of Lauren being with anyone but him, but it was particularly galling to think of her with Troy. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but no coherent words seemed to want to come out.

  ‘Lauren—’ he began.

  ‘Yes?’ She looked at him, so flushed and pretty his courage deserted him. What could he say to her when she looked so happy, knowing that it wasn’t him who’d made her so?

  Cowardice being the easiest option, he thrust Sam into Lauren’s arms.

  ‘Got to go,’ he gabbled. ‘I’ll miss my meeting.’

  ‘Your meeting. Of course,’ said Lauren, seemingly glad of the excuse. ‘Come on, Sam, let’s go and find those girls, shall we?’

  Joel fled down the path, part relieved and part infuriated. How could she have gone back to Troy after everything she’d said about him? It didn’t seem right.

  Lauren spent the day in a cloud. She’d been so reluctant to let Troy back into her life, but it seemed he really had changed. He took the girls to school with her, helped her tidy the house and even came to the park with her and Sam before his afternoon shift at the pub. He promised to come round the next evening, when neither of them was working, happy to settle for a takeaway and night in front of the telly. Something the old Troy would never have contemplated. Lauren was trying not to hope for too much, but suddenly the possibility of a proper family life seemed to be within her grasp. It would be foolish of her not to grab the opportunity with both hands.